North Louisiana Teachers Among Highest Paid in State this School Year

As the school bell rings for a new school year across the region, many teachers will be getting bigger pay checks.

Teachers in Caddo, DeSoto and Bossier parishes are among the better-paid educators in Louisiana, according to a statewide salary ranking — and all three North Louisiana school systems have recently taken additional steps to boost teacher compensation.

Caddo Parish teachers jump to 4^th in the state after a 6% raise this summer bringing the average salary in Caddo to $67,149 dollars.

DeSoto Parish teachers have also just gotten a 6.8% increase pushing the average salary to $67,120 just ahead of Natchitoches Parish and into 5th highest in the state.

Bossier is now 8th in the state after a recent pay raise putting the average salary in Bossier Parish of $66,144 dollars.

What Parishes Have the Highest Pay

It is difficult to find the most up-to-date data because the numbers published on the State Department of Education website are for the 2024-2025 school year and do not include raises given this year. But we do know Red River Parish still leads the state with an average salary of more than $80,000 dollars.  KEEL News could not find any reports about a pay raise for Red River Parish teachers, but they are getting a one-time stipend. That will not be added to the salary data.

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The pay increases in Caddo, DeSoto and Bossier Parishes will help those districts attract teachers and retain the current ones on staff.

North Louisiana makes a strong showing

Several north Louisiana parishes are among the top-paying districts.

Red River Parish still leads the state, while Caddo and DeSoto move up in the rankings to 4^th and 5^th, respectively and Natchitoches Parish ranks sixth at $67,107.  Ouachita Parish ranks 7th at $66,150. And Bossier Parish checks in at No. 8 when you add in the recent increase.

See where your parish falls in the statewide ranking, but remember this is data from the 2024-2025 school year and does not include raises given in all of the other parishes around the state.